The Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society (SEEDS) announced the completion of their first prototype transitional home in Biripadia village in Sardar block of Puri, which was ravaged by cyclone Fani recently.
With support from the United Way, Mumbai, the SEEDS has been undertaking work on water, health camps and now housing in the district.
As per SEEDS methodology, the prototype transitional home is always built for one of the families most in need within the village. In this case, it is Lata Mallik, a physically challenged (hearing impaired) single woman, from a marginalized Scheduled Caste community in Biripadia.
The village is about 15 km from Puri, with families who are mainly landless and daily wage labourers. The families survived the cyclone under an uprooted tree.
Talking about the methodology and the need for transitional shelters, co-founder, SEEDS Manu Gupta said: “This first house to be rebuilt is a symbol of hope, in a setting where there is still devastation all around. We are very happy to hand over this first transitional shelter to Lata ji and look forward to a widespread momentum in reconstruction that leaves no one behind.”